A couple say they saved hundreds of pounds by flying thousands of miles to Spain – rather than take a train to get from Cornwall to Crewe.
Dan and Kristina Coulson had to travel to Cheshire in order to get a new car after Kristina’s was written off – but a look at the train prices from Cornwall to Crewe showed they faced paying anywhere from £89 to £200 each.
Speaking to Sky’s Sarah-Jane Mee on The UK Tonight, Ms Coulson said they opted for a flight from Newquay to Malaga, then back to Manchester International Airport.
She said the first leg cost £19 per ticket, and the second was “£36 I believe” – cheaper by £34 if they had got the cheapest possible train tickets, and a saving of £290 if they had got the most expensive.
Fares on Great Western Railway – the main train line operator in Cornwall – are on average 2.2% higher than those in the rest of the EU.
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“It wasn’t easy [to find the flights], but it’s all thanks to a group I’m in on Facebook – the Extreme Day Trips – so using their expertise, it made it possible,” Kristina told Sky News.
“Either way, whether we’d have got there by plane or whichever, we’d have needed a night up there for the garage to be open up there. So we decided to make the most of eight hours in Spain instead.”
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While “it was a lot cheaper in fuel” to make the journey than it was to fly, Ms Coulson said anyone looking to save money by flying should take the chance.
“If it gives you the chance to go and see somewhere new at the same time as doing something you’ve got to do then why not,” she added.